HPD Pours One Out In Holiday Push Against Drunken Driving
Oahu has had 51 traffic deaths so far this year caused at least in part by alcohol, officers said.
Ahead of the holidays, the Honolulu Police Department put on a real-time display to show how easy it is to reach the legal blood-alcohol limit and the dangers of driving under the influence.
HPD invited a group of reporters to drink on Saturday, then undergo a series of tests that are used on suspected drunk drivers — all in a controlled setting at the Waipahu training academy.
Police said they wanted to draw attention to an annual crackdown on drunken driving as the holidays draw near. The effort also comes against the backdrop of a debate over whether to lower the blood-alcohol content limit from 0.08% after a bill stalled in the Legislature.
While police taught reporters about the investigative techniques its officers use to determine alcohol impairment in drivers, several dozen feet away some of their colleagues were given mixed drinks, shots and beer.
Later, HPD demonstrated their testing techniques on the inebriated reporters. Civil Beat’s Madeleine Valera drank four hard seltzers and ended up with an 0.086% blood alcohol content.
She had some difficulty with the eye test but was able to complete the others without issue. However, when asked she said she wouldn’t feel comfortable driving.
Oahu has had 51 traffic deaths this year caused in part by alcohol, according to Officer Koa Saul. While many incidents have multiple factors that killed drivers, 12 accidents can be directly attributed to alcohol.
Nationally, there were 13,338 deaths across the country in 2021, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And during the 2020 holiday season there were
The officers leading the presentation made an impassioned plea to look beyond the statistics.
“Often we glaze over at percentages and numbers,” said Officer Tom Billins. “But we don’t realize like the gravity of what we’re actually saying.”
HPD uses the three-part standardized field sobriety test to assess a driver’s impairment. First the officer administers an eye test to examine eye-muscle twitching. What follows are a heel-to-toe walk on a straight line and a 30-second one-leg balance.
A driver is given the option of a breathalyzer test if they fail at least two of the initial tests. The driver may then be arrested if the breathalyzer test detects above a .08% blood alcohol rate or if the officer suspects they are above the limit.
Contrary to popular belief, cops said they will not ask a driver to recite the alphabet backward.
Reporters at the media workshop drank in hour increments and took a breathalyzer test to record their blood alcohol content over time. Afterward they haphazardly completed the tasks officers gave them, only later confirming they were at or above the legal 0.08% limit.
The tests are based on multiple studies that date back to the 1970s, although officers are told to cite a 1998 San Diego standardized field sobriety test study for in-court testimony. That test affirmed the current-day 0.08% BAC national standard.
When asked if HPD continues to support lowering the state’s legal limit to 0.05%, the officers said yes.
The Hawaii Legislature has previously introduced legislation that would institute the new limit, but those efforts failed to gain approval from both chambers.
In a phone interview Friday, Alice Liu, program director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s Hawaii chapter, said the group plans to support reintroducing legislation in the upcoming session.
At the workshop, the officers asked that people take advantage of ride-sharing and other resources to avoid making a critical error this holiday season.
“Our message is celebrate all you want. Celebrate responsibly. But if you’re going to go out and drink and celebrate, plan ahead and make the right decisions,” Billins said.
